Watching the Paper

Law firms love paper. There is tons of it - when I was last employed by a firm, we measured our paper usage by weight...

This blog post by IBB Solicitors caught my eye - it deals with a warning dished out  by the Information Commissioner in connection with the way that paper records were managed by the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (and they were asking for trouble calling themselves that...) and by NHS Liverpool Community Health. The quote from the Acting Head of Enforcement is telling:

“These incidents should act as a warning to other organisations who handle sensitive papers of the need to make sure their paper records management processes are as robust as their electronic data systems. The protection of data in all formats must be taken seriously.” 

Law firms handle lots of sensitive paper with reams of it delivered every day. How many firms are really sure that their systems are sufficiently robust to ensure its security at every stage of its use and storage? I suspect not that many.

I spend quite a bit of time in law firms of differing sizes and it is usually fairly easy to come into contact with a pile of paper relating to one of the firm's matters. Just as importantly, however, is the care of incoming paper within the firm. If there was a fire or flood in your post room or office, would you really know what piles of paper had been destroyed. Is everything scanned when it comes into the building? Is it logged before it is scanned? If it is both logged and scanned - I bet that is a significant cost that the firm is looking very closely at...

This warning highlights the importance of having systems in place to ensure that paper records are managed as effectively as computer records. They must be in the right place at the right time so that they are valuable to the firm - and the firm must know what paper records they have (and where they are) at all times.

Thanks to IBB Solicitors for picking this one up and mentioning it on their Twitter feed (@IBB_Solicitors).

The cost of Legal Aid

The Ministry of Justice has just issued a consultation paper on the funding of Legal Aid in England & Wales.

It has some interesting proposals, at first glance:

• To equalise the rates paid for defence and prosecution in legal aid cases;
• Move towards single rates for police station advice
• Simply arrangements - in particular with regard to the Litigators Graduated Fees Scheme
• End payments for criminal file reviews

I have already spoken with a couple of criminal barristers about the review, and they are not happy. "Well, of course not" you would be entitled to say, since they are looking at a reduction in income. There seem to be particular concerns about equalising payments simply by reducing the higher fee to the value of the lower. Cheaper is not always better, and I know that some in the criminal bar have raised concerns about the number of miss-trials, which they suggest is through the use of less experienced, and so cheaper, counsel.

We must remember that the document from the MoJ is a consultation paper and so all interested parties will be able to have their say.

Let's hope, however, that the "slash and burn" still being visited on many solicitors is not going to be used the the government on the Bar, and that efficiency savings can be found by looking at the whole system and costs in the medium and long terms as well as just within one budget review period.